Respected figure: Baroness Margaret Thatcher. Personal goal: To become Japan's Iron Lady.
It was only after two failed attempts that, on Saturday, Sanae Takaichi finally achieved her long-held ambition.
The 64-year-old was elected leader of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) on its 70th anniversary - putting her on course to become the country's first female prime minister.
A former government minister and TV host, and once a drummer in a heavy metal band, she will now face the challenge of leading not only a party struggling to regain voter trust after scandals and battling with the far right - but a country facing low birth rates and rising geopolitical tensions.
Born in Nara Prefecture in 1961, Takaishi's father was an office worker and her mother a police officer. Politics was far removed from her upbringing.
Once an avid heavy metal drummer, she was famous for carrying many sticks because she would break them during intense drumming. She was also a scuba diver and a car enthusiast - her beloved Toyota Supra is now displayed in a Nara museum.
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